A Hero's Beginning-Tarsus IV
by TehJediThatNeverWas
Summary: Long before James Tiberius Kirk became the well-known hero of the Federation or the captain of the USS Enterprise, he was JT. A small little boy from rural Iowa that came to live with his Aunt and Uncle on a farming colony. This is the story of how little Jimmy Kirk became JT and how he went through Hell and back and survived. Tarsus IV/Angst
1. Chapter 1

By- Tehjedithatneverwas

 **Author's Note: Hey Guys, this is my first fanfiction, so i'm really excited to publish this and put my work out there ! I hope you guys like it, feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome. Have a good read!**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of these ideas except for some of my own characters and the plot of this story. All characters of the original Star Trek belong to the great mind of Gene Roddenberry.**

Being the crazy-ass jumped up cadet that had the balls to demand from Captain Pike to turn the Enterprise around, that probably was the first clue that James Tiberius Kirk was no ordinary person. He had witnessed genocides, survived massacres, been tortured, and literally felt the weight of the universe on his shoulders, but amidst all of that he still found it in himself to have the kindness and compassion that not even saints would have. This is the story of the Captain of the Starship Enterprise and the man behind that mask.

13 years ago:

His best friend, his confidante, his somebody to lean on, his defender, his brother has just walked out of his life ignoring his desperate pleas to stay. Sam Kirk has just left his little brother Jim all alone in the middle of Riverside, Iowa with an alcoholic for a stepfather.

Jim decides that if even Sam who has stuck with him through the hell that is Frank, decides that even he isn't worth staying for, then it isn't even worth the effort of staying alive. It's not as if there's anybody worth staying for or anybody who will miss him. Everybody is either gone or dead, his fucking self-sacrificial father whom he never even got to meet, the woman who gave birth to him who can't even look him in the eye, and last but not the least heartbreaking George Samuel Kirk Jr. Everybody leaves eventually, that was a lesson he learned well today, and one he would never forget. Frank would probably even be glad to be rid of him.

Tears sting Jimmy's eyes and he wants to lie down and never get back up.

"I told you to clean the goddamn car, you worthless piece of shit! That's why your fucking brother left you in the dust!" Frank yelled, and then he smacked little Jimmy in the face. _Oh well,_ Jim thinks, _at least I'll be sporting a hella rad bruise by tomorrow._

Jim turns back and his gaze lands on the cherry red Chevrolet Corvette. He gets up and does what he doesn't realize he'll be doing for the rest of his life; he struggles on. As he gets to the part of cleaning inside the car he opens up the sun visor and a key fall on his lap. An idea forms in Jimmy's mind and soon enough he is racing with it, and apparently the 300-year-old car is too.

'Sabotage' by The Beastie Boys is playing. Jim loves this song. His heart is thumping in his chest so loud that he can hear it over the noise of the engines. The wind is in Jimmy's hair, the music is roaring in his ears, he breathes and lets out a cry of satisfaction. It is now that Jimmy truly feels present, he feels happy, it has probably been years since he last felt this overwhelming feeling of contentment. The last time he has felt this way was before Winona got married to Frank, Jim was probably only 5, he and Sam were staring at the stars thinking of the Kirk brothers against the world, together.

It has been years since that happened, but it seems like centuries.

 _Fuck,_ Jimmy thinks. He curses himself for thinking of such a memory. Reminiscence won't do him any good now.

Ring! Ring! Ring! _Shit,_ Frank was now calling the car, Jimmy decided to answer it, since well, in a car that can go at least 150 miles per hour it's not as if Frank is going to run after him.

"Listen here you piece of crap, you're going to bring that car home and when you do I am going to beat your ass into next Tuesday. Do you have any idea how much that car is wor-" _Ooops_ , Jimmy has had enough of his annoying stepfather's bitching. Jimmy ended the call. _Double shit, I'm going to die if Frank ever gets his hands on me._ _ **If**_ _, Frank ever gets his hands on me._ Emphasis on the _if_ Jimmy thought.

He knew the topography of his hometown pretty well, he knew that there was a rock quarry somewhere ahead, and he also knew that crashing a car off that height would kill him. Jimmy Kirk was 11 years old and he was contemplating suicide.

"Attention Citizen! Pull over your vehicle now!" _Triple Shit,_ a police officer on a hovercycle called over to him. He made a hard right and crashed open a gate leading to the rock quarry.

The cop turned on his siren and proceeded to chase after him. He can see it now the big gaping hole in the earth which plummets two hundred feet below. He's gonna do it he thinks, he's going to plummet to his death in a fiery explosion of gas and car parts dropping from an insane height. What an epic way to die, the eleven-year-old part of him thinks. Jimmy Kirk is going to rid himself of his own misery and he is going to rid the world of the mere annoyance that is him.

The ancient motor vehicle skids over the edge and he almost does too, grabbing and clawing at the ground desperately trying to survive which was the complete opposite of what he was trying to accomplish not a minute ago, but he makes a split-second decision that he does not die today.

"What is your name citizen?" The police officer chasing him calls.

At first he stands shakily on his legs, but he distributes his weight evenly between them he shouts loud and proud "My name is James Tiberius Kirk!"

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading my first chapter of this story! I hoped you liked it so far and I will be updating this story weekly! I promise! :) Don't be shy to hit that follow button.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey Guys! It's me again, I hope you like the story so far, and please don't be afraid to PM me or leave a review if you have any suggestions and comments. And as I sadly feared, I do not own Star Trek, all rights belong to the magnificent Gene Roddenberry. Here is chapter 2 as promised to be updated within a week and without further ado, here you go :)**

* * *

Chapter 2:

 _This goddamn kid has probably spent more time at the station than in his own home._ Police officer Chandly Miles sighs, he surveys the kid sitting in a desk chair in front of him. Chandly Miles has dreaded the day when he got stationed here by his commanding officer in the middle of nowhere, but it looks like things just took a turn for interesting.

He hasn't actually spoken to this kid before but he heard stories about him from the other officers. How he has several felonies already and he's not even a teenager yet. Breaking and Entering, stealing, and hacking secure files, he just asks himself what happened to the youth of today?

Although, on the kid's interrogation videos he says he only crossed a private fence to get away from his house and that he hacked files for something interesting to read, he still wonders, what goes on inside that head? Especially since he's skipped several grades and is already in his senior year of high school. He has the makings of a genius!

He called himself James Tiberius Kirk. _Kirk, why does that sound familiar? Ah yes, the Kelvin Baby._

But that makes him think again, what is the son of a decorated war-hero and two highly respected Starfleet officials doing in the backwaters of Riverside, Iowa?

He tried asking what the hell was he even thinking by driving a car off a cliff, but he just shook his head. He was Blond, thin, and there's an area around his eye that's starting to bruise. Chandly Miles had asked the kid about that too but his lips were tight shut about that also.

Looking at the dejected, probably abused human being in front of him, he sighs again. _I mean, why else would a rationally sane living organism drive a car off a rock quarry?_

He commed the boy's legal guardians around a half an hour ago and he can positively say he has never been more disgusted with another person as much as this boy's stepfather, Frank Garson. It's a wonder that that man hasn't been beaten up and thrown into a ditch somewhere by someone who has been pissed off by him.

30 minutes ago:

"Hello? Sir? This is officer Chandly Miles of the Iowan State Police Force. Your stepson has just driven a 300-year-old car off a cliff and he is currently in police custody."

"Whaa? Oh yeah, keep the little brat. I don't want him."

"Excuse me, sir?" It took every ounce of will power in the young officer to keep his professional face on and to curse out this first rate asshole.

"Yeah, you heard me, keep 'im. If ya want try an' contact his mother, she's in space right now, USS Valiant." And with that prompt remark he promptly ended the conversation.

Frustration filled the mind of Officer Miles, he stole a furtive glance at the boy in front of him. _What the hell has this boy gone through?_

* * *

In the end Winona Kirk, the woman who gave birth to Jimmy Kirk was in no hurry to send her love (if there ever was any) either. James Tiberius Kirk was to be sent to live with Winona's sister and Brother-in-law, Jimmy's Aunt and Uncle on some far away farming colony planet.

* * *

As Jimmy boards the shuttle going to his new family, still reeling from the emotional mess that Sam has put him in, he thinks to himself, _what waits for me after this shuttle ride? Will they reject me like Sam or Winona or will someone finally accept me? Only one way to find out._

"Good afternoon folks, this is your pilot speaking," a voice came over the shuttle speakers as Jimmy settles into his seat.

He was earning quite a few stares as well. Him probably being the only unaccompanied minor on board with a black eye and his raggedy clothes, he sure made quite a sight.

The shuttle announcements continued, "we are ready for take-off. This is shuttle 5940 heading towards Tarsus IV. We will be arriving at our destination at approximately 6 hours. Please have an enjoyable flight."

And just like that Jimmy Kirk was whisked away into a whole new world.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Okay, I know this chapter may be a little short but I promise next week's chapter will be a lot longer. Thank you for all the Favorites and Follows and a special thank you to RachelVille for your kind words of positivity. Don't forget to hit the review button!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hello, my readers! It is me again!** **Back with another chapter, and as promised 2 weeks ago (sorry for the delay), it is quite longer than the previous chapters so here you go, thank you for reading my rambles and I will let you carry on with the story. Thanks for the follows and all the reviews btw :)**

 **Disclaimer: And as unfortunately expected, I do not own Star Trek, all rights belong to the glorious Gene Roddenberry.**

* * *

Chapter 3:

The shuttle landed in what sort of looked like a 21st century train station, except it looked sleeker, cleaner and there were flying shuttles instead of those ancient machines called trains that sometimes got derailed and killed people.

When Jimmy got off the shuttle a rather tall woman with twinkly green eyes and dirty blonde hair which was tied up in a messy ponytail was waiting for him with a brunette man with brown eyes and a kind face with a bright smile. They were both wearing light, loose fitting clothing, probably made out of linen. _Farming attire,_ Jimmy thought.

He wondered why these two people were looking straight at him, then the woman smiled and held out her hand. Then something clicked in his head, they were probably Winona's sister and brother-in-law. His aunt Marie and uncle Terry.

Jimmy went towards them. "Uh hi," Jimmy said to the pair, he didn't make eye contact at first but when he finally looked up to them he saw their compassionate faces and he smiled right back at them.

"Do you want me to take your stuff?" His uncle Terry asked, but Jimmy just looked at this hands and then shrugged his shoulders since he had no luggage, a sheepish look appeared on his face and he said "I don't think that'll be necessary".

"Alright, well if you'll follow me, we'll lead you straight to our humble abode." Aunt Marie told him, "And um, I know we're technically related but this is the first time we've met so hi, you can call me aunt Marie, and this doofus over here is your uncle Terry." Uncle Terry waved.

Jimmy cracked a genuine smile in what it feels like for the first time in years. " I'm James Kirk, but uh you can call me uhh.." He doesn't know why he hesitated at saying his own name but every time he heard 'Jimmy' he always thought of all the negative things associated with it.

 _How Uncle Frank, wait scratch that, he's not my Uncle,_ Jimmy mentally corrected himself, _How Frank always insulted him and said he wasn't ever good enough which is why his mother couldn't even look him in the eye. Or whenever he fought with another student his teacher would say "Jimmy, why can't you just be normal? Like everybody else? Why can't you just be a good little boy_?" _Well isn't that the million-credit question?_

 _And then there was one other time when he was walking home from school and he distinctly heard some old lady talking about him. "Oh yeah? That boy, Jimmy Kirk, always getting in trouble, with the school and with the police. I remember one time I saw him getting arrested. Darn, that boy is on the wrong road in life. He's such a disappointment to his family."_

There was a certain tone in that lady's voice, the way she talked about his family like she knew them. But she didn't. No one did, all they really knew was the name and the face of George Samuel Kirk Sr. and how he gave up his life to save the 800 crewmen in the U.S.S Kelvin. No one really knew him, except maybe Sam and Winona, but they're gone too.

Jimmy didn't even know his own father, but whose fault was that?

It wasn't Jimmy's fault that his father sacrificed himself so that he and his mother (nope wait scratch that, he is not considering Winona Kirk as his mother) could live, even though Winona seems to say otherwise.

So now, at this exact moment, Jimmy Kirk was given an opportunity to start fresh, with people who might actually care about him. And you know what he did with this given opportunity? He took it.

"You can call me James."

* * *

It was a quick walk to their destination and James noted the scenery throughout the trip. They passed by lots of corn and wheat fields and James could also see some high-tech buildings along the horizon, made with glass and steel and some surrounding lights to brighten the nearby area.

When Jimmy finally got to his aunt and uncle's house it was around mid-afternoon and he was starting to get a little hungry. His stomach brought that bit of information to attention, the growl that his stomach made could have probably been confused with a bear's roar or some other ferocious animal sound.

He made a sheepish face, having been embarrassed by his own stomach in front of his new family, _lets see if I can actually have a family this time,_ Jimmy, _no,_ James thought as he mentally corrected himself.

"Well I guess I can see, or rather hear, that you're quite in the mood for some food." His uncle Terry said to him as he gave a light chuckle to himself. Aunt Marie only rolled her eyes at her husband's antics as she gestured to the bowl of bread rolls placed upon the dining room table. James genuinely smiled at that, and even with just being in their home for only around 5 minutes, he already knew that they loved each other dearly, and briefly wondered if Winona and George ever loved like that before shit hit the fan.

James propped himself up on a dining table chair and and helped himself to some cold albeit stomach filling bread rolls. He then took this moment to observe his surroundings. Jame's aunt and uncle seemed like good people, _better than_ Frank, he thought, _but then again, anyone remotely polite would be better than Frank._ The house he was in was decent sized, and there was a lot of spacing between each house, the nearest house being almost 25 feet away.

Uncle Terry and Aunt Marie's 'humble abode' had a homey motif with inspirational quotes and family pictures of Aunt Marie, Uncle Terry, and two other children, hanging on almost every wall. There were also flowers in every corner that James could see, and even a vase full of lilies and tulips placed on the dining table.

He was almost finished with his second bread roll when he heard the arguing voices of a girl and a boy approaching nearby.

The voice of a boy exclaimed, "I'm telling you Mia! In the early 21st century, there was this huge debate that split up the human race in two factions over whether putting pineapple on pizza was socially acceptable or not." James internally chuckled.

This time a girl responded, "Well I think the human race being split into two factions over something so trivial is a bit exaggerated, and obviously the pineapple side won because people actually started putting pineapple on pizza during that time."

"But not all people agreed with that, some actually say that the non-pineapple side won because some famous chef of that age called Gorbin Ramsay, or something like that, said in a twitter post, whatever that is, that putting pineapple on pizza is an 'abomination'."

The two voices had gotten closer and closer until they actually entered the house. In fact, those two voices belonged to the very same children that were in Aunt Marie and Uncle Terry's family picture.

Aunt Marie stepped towards her two children and told them to stop bickering. Mia, the girl, was about to make some retort to her brother but he nudged her in the arm to stop her from talking and jerked his head in James's direction.

James stood up from the chair to greet them.

"Hi."

* * *

 **Author's note: okay, first of all sorry for the delay on the update of this chapter, but I do promise that I will try to update on time for the following chapters. Anyways, here it is, chapter 3, so what did you think? Don't be shy to hit the review button to leave some constructive criticism or any remarks about this chapter. Also I have an instagram page if you'd like to follow me, its theimperiomarch and i post lots of fandom stuffs all ranging from doctor who to star wars to star trek to different types of books. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Hey Guys, I am so sorry for the super long hiatus and for keeping all of my wonderful readers waiting. In my defense, I have been busy with a hella ton of schoolwork . I do promise that I will try and stick to my promise of updating chapters more regularly. I hope all of you whom are reading this are well and good; and without further ado, here is the fourth chapter of 'A Hero's Beginning-Tarsus IV".**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek (sadly, *wipes single tear running from the corner of my eye)**

* * *

Chapter 4:

The boy standing in front of James, for which he assumed to be his cousin, had blonde colored hair, and it was around to be the same shade as Jame's. He also had brown eyes, like his father, a button nose, and was only a couple inches shorter than he was.

The girl on the other hand, was a whole head shorter than her brother. She had brown eyes as well, dimples, and light brown hair.

It seems that neither of Jame's cousins had inherited their mother's twinkly green eyes. _Like Winona's eyes, like Sam's._ Sam and Winona's eyes were the exact same shade of green, _Like mother, like son,_ James thought. He pushed that thought away, reminiscing on the past would do him no good.

Here he was, given a new opportunity to become something new, someone new, someone who finally had a complete family.

"Hi! You must be our new cousin, i'm Lisa!" The young bubbly girl's acknowledgement towards James interrupted his thoughts, she positively beamed at him as she waved her hand to show a gesture of hello. She looked genuinely happy to see him despite never seeing him before a day in her life.

"James," Aunt Marie began, "this is your cousin, Lisa," she spoke as she motioned to the young girl. "This," she said as she began again, "is your cousin, Cory," indicating the other person in the room who gave him a shy smile.

"Lisa dear, why don't you take James over here to his room and help him get settled in. I promise all of you that you guys will all get to know each other a little bit more after dinner," Uncle Terry suggested.

James nodded to his uncle and proceeded to follow his younger cousin up the stairs who looked like she could spontaneously combust in any minute due to excitement. Since James didn't really know exactly what to say in circumstances such as this, he awkwardly said to Lisa, "uhhh, hi?"

"Ohmygod Ohhmygodd!" Lisa exclaimed in a flurry of excited words. "I've been waiting for you to arrive for a couple days now!" They continued to walk up he stairs but James couldn't even get a word in edgewise because of how fast she talked. "When my mom told me and Cory that we would have a cousin living with us, I was so excited!"

James could most definitely guess that.

"It's like i'm getting another big brother! Then you and Cory can work together and help me with a bunch of stuff like my homework, we could be..." Lisa paused, thinking of the perfect words to end her sentence with, "the terrific trio," she finished.

The pair reached the top of the stairs and made a quick turn around the hallway which led right outside on of the bedrooms. Lisa turned around and smiled at him, "well this is your room, the bathroom is right down that hall." She pointed left to another door at the end of the hallway.

James smiled back at her, "Thanks, Lisa. I've never had a younger sister-slash-cousin before, anyways ummm..." James trailed off trying to think of a suitable conversation topic.

"Don't worry about it," Lisa said, and with a smile the young girl went back downstairs to her family set the table for dinner.

"Hey Lisa," James called out to her, she turned to face him. "I think the terrific trio is an excellent name."

* * *

James pushed the door to his new room open and then entered. The furniture was pretty sparse, there was a light brown wooden desk along with a simple chair and a twin-sized bed with a bedside table. Right next to the bed was a decent sized window that was big enough for James to fit through, there was some roofing right outside the window big enough for two people to sit on.

James looked around the room again and noticed there was a couple of actual paper books on the desk. _Paper books,_ James thought, it had been a long time since he had felt or even seen paper books, especially since after the Federation passed the "paper preservation" bill to try and preserve all the trees. They had lifted the bill a couple months ago, but paper products were still a rarity especially since people have started to realize the harmful effects it could cause to the environment.

James looked through some of the titles resting on the table. _Pride and Prejudice, Sherlock Holmes, and Les Miserables, oh yes,_ James thought. He would enjoy reading these books very much. He absolutely loved the smell of books, he flipped the pages with his thumb as he brought it right up to his nose and sniffed it. _I am never going to get tired of that._

James flitted down the stairs and walked over to the dining table just in time to see Cory finish setting it up. His uncle smiled at him. "James, you can sit right here," Uncle Terry said as he motioned to the spot next to him.

A stomach-growl worthy aroma of savory food wafted up and greeted James's nose as he sat down. He breathed the scent in until no more air could fill his lungs. Aunt Marie followed after the scent carrying a steaming platter of mashed potatoes and juicy beef. James was most definitely ready to eat.

* * *

 **Author's Note: That is the end of chapter 4 folks! I know it's a little bit short and I made you guys wait awhile but hopefully its all good. Hit the favorite button or leave a review, your feedback is always welcome. If you guys thought of anything to make the story better in anyway, please let me know. Stay tuned for the next chapter. Things are about to get a little bit more fast-paced...**

 **:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hey Guys! I'm back, I hope all of you are well. This chapter contains a lot of Jame's flashbacks to his time living with his brother and Frank, and we're gonna see a lot of his thoughts and emotions as well as how he's been adjusting to his new life with his aunt and uncle. And just a reminder, whenever some lines are in italics, those are James's thoughts in first person. And drumroll please... here is chapter 5.**

 **BTW ya'll should really go check my multi-fandom i account, its the_imperio_march and if you want my personal acc is _estella._**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, All Hail our Lord and Savior Gene Roddenberry.**

* * *

Chapter 5:

Aunt Marie was an A+ cook, and boy was her food good. James sunk his teeth into the juicy savory piece of meat, he paused to let his taste buds relish the sensation before taking in a spoonful of mash potatoes. His mouth exploded with flavor.

James had never tasted anything as good in his entire life.

* * *

He remembers it just like it was a couple days ago, probably because it was just a couple days ago, that he remembers quietly moving aside Frank's empty beer cans in order to scavenge for a piece of greasy pizza to get something to eat, while his stepfather- _I wrinkle my nose in disgust at that notion-_ dozed away on the couch.

There really wasn't much to eat around the house, James took what he could from the free food served at school and he took what he could from Frank without him noticing. Sam would always get something to drink for the both of them when he came home, enough that they would have a three day stock of water bottles in their room.

He inwardly smiled when Sam managed to convince him to drink his first bottle of beer behind Frank's back. The bitter taste burned his throat but damn, did he love the effect alcohol had on him.

Whatever the brothers needed, they gathered it themselves. They couldn't live off of fatty foods and beer, unlike Frank.

 _That man was a walrus_ , James thought, he made himself chuckle a bit on the inside. _Maybe that's why I'm so thin._

It wasn't as if he could go and complain to his mother, _Winona_ , James thought in disdain. The woman who gave birth to him couldn't even bear to look him in the eye, he reminded her too much of the man she had lost on the U.S.S. Kelvin.

The things intense grief could do to a person.

Winona Kirk is a science officer in Starfleet aboard the U.S.S. Valiant helping to maintain the United Federation of Planets.

James internally scoffed.

That was nothing but an escape or an excuse for her to leave everything she didn't want behind. She left behind her two sons to an alcoholic whom she married out of the spur of the moment, and he who didn't give a shit about either of them, and she left behind the ghost of her deceased husband.

 _She abandoned me, and so did Sam._ The thought put ashes in James's mouth.

* * *

That was a shame because he still had his mouth full with Aunt Marie's glorious cooking.

While James was in his head and one thought turned to another, he had only begun taking in his second spoon full of food.

James awkwardly tried to start a conversation, "So, uh, how was your day?"

Aunt Marie smiled at him. "Productive, I got a lot of stuff done at work, how was yours?"

James genuinely felt his lips curve upwards as he replied, "pretty exciting, so uh, what exactly do you guys do?"

This time, Uncle Terry answered his question, "Well we were actually one of the first scientists to step foot on Tarsus IV and to help organize the colony, me and your aunt are part of the irrigation team. We work with the water under the surface of the planet and with the use of sciency stuff," Uncle Terry made a silly wiggly gesture with his hands, "We help them get to the crops that support all life on this planet."

Out of the corner of his eye, James noticed the way his aunt looked at his uncle, with adoration in her eyes. _I wonder if that's how my parents looked at each other, back when how things used to be._

"That's pretty cool," James put in as he took another bite.

"Pretty cool?" Uncle Terry asked half incredulous and half mock-offended. "I think having a skill like that is unmatched," he said to James proudly as he went back to devouring his dinner.

Lisa leaned her head in James's ear and whispered to him, "He's really proud of his work."

James could only nod his head in agreement. "No kidding."

"Hey, speaking of pretty cool," Cory said, "are you excited to go to school?"

"Cory, don't talk with your mouth full." Aunt Marie chided her son as she gave him a stern look.

Cory swallowed his food. "Sorry, mom."

 _School?_ That hit James like a freight train. _My mind blanked. School didn't even cross my thoughts until Cory just mentioned it._

James had been too busy focusing on trying to adjust to his new surroundings that he didn't even think far enough into the future to worry about school.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Cory tried to reassure his cousin. "The school system here is actually kind of great, especially since its structured differently than on earth. Here, the kids are sorted into grade levels based on how well they test on the different subjects and not on their age. The people here really nice and don't worry, the teachers aren't so bad."

* * *

After dinner was over, James helped the rest of the family clean up but Aunt Marie insisted that he get some rest, especially since they were going to enroll him at the school tomorrow.

James climbed up the stairs, entered his room, and plopped down on his bed. He had mixed feelings about registering tomorrow. He felt nervous and anxious about being thrust into such a new environment so quickly. On the other hand, going to school would give him the opportunity to meet more people here on Tarsus and really give him a chance at a new life.

No more being known as the son of a dead Federation hero, but just as James Kirk. _A clean slate_.

James lied down on the soft bed and pulled the covers around him, and to ease his overactive mind into a deep sleep, he started reading the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and soon a deep slumber took over him.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well there you have it folks! Chapter 5 is up, don't forgot to review, your constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **Until next time,**

 **tehjedithatneverwas :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey hey hey! I'm back from my lengthy absence, again I cannot say how much I'm sorry for leaving you all hanging like that. Anyways, this one is gonna be one of my longer chapters and hopefully you guys enjoy it, we'll get to see more of Jimmy's life before Tarsus IV which will give us some insight on his character, and without further ado, here is Chapter 6 of** ** _A Hero's Beginning._**

* * *

Chapter 6: Memories and Breakfast Oats

When James opens his eyes the next morning, his brain sends him into a frenzy of panicked thoughts. _Shit,_ he thought, _I didn't clean the dishes at all this week, when Frank sees that pile of dirty plates in the sink, he is gonna murder me._

He starts hurriedly ripping the covers from the bed in haste hoping that he might at least get started before Frank gets up, but as he pulls the covers off of himself, he hears a _thunk_ as something hits the floor. And it stops him.

While his legs swing over the side of the bed, he cranes his neck puzzling over the fallen object. A book to be precise, a paper copy of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. Suddenly the events of the last 36 hours came flooding back to James.

 _Aunt Marie, Uncle Terry, Cory, Lisa. They weren't a dream,_ thought James. They're real, so so real. He wasn't in Iowa anymore, but instead he was in his aunt and uncle's house on Tarsus IV.

Safe and away from Frank, but away from all the places where he shared memories with his brother as well. James pushed the thought away from his head as he lied back down on the cushiony mattress and took a deep breath.

Today is a new day.

* * *

Never in James's life did he think he would ever be this happy to get ready for school.

Back in Iowa, school was a completely different story. He hated the teachers there, always looking at him with disdain, always looking at him with disappointment, always looking at him as if they knew everything that was going on in little Jimmy's life.

 _Why are you always picking fights with the other kids,_ they said. _Why can't you be more like Sam_ , they said.

It wasn't Sam's fault that he had been born first and was the one to set the bar for Jimmy, but the words sting nonetheless.

The kids at school weren't much better either. Most just ignored him but he remembered there was just this one annoying kid who wouldn't mind his own goddamn business. James searches his mind, hunting for a name. _Troy_ , that was the one. Troy was some stupid little shit that just couldn't resist picking on people that he thought were beneath him, and with James's small frame and muscle-less arms, that made him easy prey. And wherever Troy went, his gang of cronies followed.

Those idiots following Troy around couldn't possibly rub two independent thoughts together in their heads if their obnoxious leader weren't always telling them what to do.

One time, Troy and his cronies chased James all the way to the school roof. They didn't know he could climb that well, or that James's muscle-less arms could even hold up his weight. But they did. Nobody could get to him up there, but that earned James another lecture from his teacher all about being a disappointment to his parents' name and of course, a beating from Frank.

The next time Troy and his group of shitheads came looking for him, James put up a fight. He fought, kicking and screaming, fighting tooth and nail, and he would have won too, if it were a fair fight.

But it wasn't, most fights aren't.

It was five against one and after recovering from the daze of seeing little Jimmy even having the balls to hit their leader, the cronies came back to their senses and held Jimmy down, one boy on each of his limbs while Troy tried to knock a few of Jimmy's teeth out.

But that person who was beat up by five stronger bigger boys, he was just some little kid who still believed in his big brother coming to save him.

But his big brother is gone and that person no longer exists.

There is no Jimmy anymore, he is James.

 _Try chasing me now Troy._

* * *

Apparently good cooking skills run in the family.

James had discovered as such when he took a spoonful of that sweet fruity oatmeal that he had for breakfast.

The oats weren't mushy like paste and they weren't too dry either. _Hmmm._

The perfect medium.

He was just about to compliment his aunt yet again for her mouth-watering expertise with making food when Lisa said to Cory, "I thought you said you didn't have time to make breakfast in the mornings?"

Cory smiled sheepishly, "I uhhh, just woke up early this morning, I couldn't go back to sleep so I just decided to make breakfast today, that's all."

"Uh-huh okay," Lisa smirked.

"Woah wait, you made this?" James asked. Cory nodded. "Well, I think its great."

His cousin turned tomato red at the praise.

James made a mental note, to ask Cory later if he could teach him how to make food later on.

* * *

Driving to the school wasn't really necessary since it was only about a 15 minute walk away from their house, but Aunt Marie and Uncle Terry insisted, especially since it was James's first day.

Sprawling across a wide expanse and towering at four stories tall, it was easily the biggest school that James had ever seen. This didn't really mean much since James had only ever seen one other school, but still, it was massive.

Made out of shining steel and clear glass with some hues of blue, this building was the picture of sophistication. Over above the front door it read in big neat letters, "Tarsus IV: School of Advancement."

 _Fancy._

James was in complete awe and if Uncle Terry hadn't opened the door for him, he might have walked dab-smack into the glass door.

As the family entered the school, sparkling pearly white tile greeted them, shiny enough that James could see a faint image of his own reflection.

"Okay, have a good day darlings." James stopped gawking at his surroundings and turned to see Aunt Marie saying goodbye to Cory and Lisa. His cousins smiled and waved at him and he waved back. Although he had barely known them for more than a day, his heart couldn't help but wrench at the sight of seeing them go. _They're gonna come back,_ he told himself.

 _They're gonna come back._

Where Cory and Lisa turned left at the entrance of the school to go to they're classes, the rest of them kept heading straight, right to a turbolift. Like many other things, James had also never seen a turbolift before.

He briefly wondered if these turbolifts were the same kind that they use on the starships where Winona is. Wherever she is... But he banished all thought of Winona from his head and hardened his jaw.

The three of them stepped inside and James couldn't help but gawk at his surroundings, _again._ Like many other things in the school, it was made of glass. It was big enough to hold four more people besides them and it had a touchscreen panel on the right with soft blue lights.

Uncle Terry touched part of the screen that had the number 4 on it and the three of them were sent hurtling upwards encased in a glass and metal tube.

Neither his aunt nor his uncle looked nervous, _but I guess they shouldn't be since they're not the one going to school,_ James thought. Anxiety began to take a hold of him, and as the turbolift climbed higher and higher, he couldn't help but feel more anxious by the second.

 _What if there were more shitheads here who didn't mind their own business? What if there were stuck-up assholes who thought they were better than everybody else? What if, what if, what if I just ended up in the same situation over and over again? Different faces and different places but the same outcome._

 _Outcasted and unloved._

They got out of the turbolift and entered another hallway. It was wider than the one James had seen downstairs.

Uncle Terry must have noticed his nephew's unease because he gently put his hand on James's shoulder and said "Don't worry, son. You'll be fine."

 _Son._

Never had he heard that word been directed to him before.

That may have just single-handedly made James's day.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Wow Guys! I totally smashed my word count goal for this chapter! I think this is my longest chapter yet! Next chapter will probably be way longer though since we may be meeting one new really important character. . . possibly 2? Anyways, stay tuned to find out! Please review and follow, let me know all of your questions, comments, and concerns regarding my story and my writing, constructive criticism is very welcome. See ya next time, guys!**

 **Toodles :)**


End file.
